Air India likely to order 500 planes: What the largest-ever aircraft order could mean for Indian aviation

This order (in terms of size and type of the aircraft) will not just give guidance on the future plans of Air India but also be an indicator of the Indian aviation’s future.

Mumbai: An Air India aircraft parked at the airport in Mumbai, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023.

An order as large as this could also be an indicator of the potential of the Indian aviation sector, which is set to clock its best year in terms of domestic passenger numbers in 2022. (PTI Photo/Kunal Patil)

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As Air India under the Tata Group prepares to expand in both domestic and international skies, the airline is likely to order around 500 planes in a mix of short-haul and long-haul aircraft, Reuters reported on Monday. If the aircraft order goes through, this will make this order the largest-ever till date by an airline in one go – Largest single order has been a 460 aircraft order by American Airlines. Air India has, however, refrained from commenting on the aircraft order.

We explain the details.

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What is the kind of order likely to be ordered?

According to the Reuters story, on order will be about 400 narrow-body aircraft – probably a mix of (Airbus) A320neos, A321neos and (Boeing) 737 MAXs – and 100 wide-bodies, which will include (Boeing) 787s, 777X, potentially some 777 freighters and (Airbus) A350s. A 400 narrow-body and over 100 wide-body aircraft order would mean more than doubling of AI group’s fleet strength from 173 narrow-body and 47 wide-bodied aircraft, respectively.

What does this aircraft order mean for Indian aviation?

This order (in terms of size and type of the aircraft) will not just give guidance on the future plans of Air India but also be an indicator of the Indian aviation’s future. If the order is of 500 aircraft, it will be the largest order by an airline group till date globally – a 300 aircraft order by IndiGo 2019 is till date the highest in terms of number of aircraft by an Indian carrier.

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An order as large as this could also be an indicator of the potential of the Indian aviation sector, which is set to clock its best year in terms of domestic passenger numbers in 2022.

What would be the significance of the order for the sector?

A large number of network carriers from the countries in the east, as well as the west of India, carry a large number of passengers to destinations in Europe and Americas with a stopover at their home country.

While India allowed these carriers in the past, the current dispensation wants Indian carriers to acquire long-haul aircraft and connect these destinations in different parts of the world. While low-cost carriers in India do not have plans, Air India group has two airlines – Air India and Vistara – that can provide connections to these destinations.

How many airlines does the Air India group have?

The Group currently has Air India and Vistara as full-service carriers and Air India Express and AirAsia India as low-cost carriers. The Group has already announced plans to merge low-cost carriers under Air India Express by the end of 2023 and full-service carriers under Air India by 2024. Till the time order for these aircraft are placed, Air India has inducted aircraft on lease to expand globally.

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